Automobile signal



E. E. OLSON. AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL. APPLICATION man MAY 20 1921. 1,409,898.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- Ill E. E. OLSON.

AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 20. 1921.

1,409,898. ented Mar- 14, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

fly. 4. I

UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

man u OLSON, ornmrvnn, oonomo, assrenoa 'rocnanmzs A. samma, or NEW YORK, N'. Y.

AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL.

Specification of'Lett ers Iatent. I Patented Mar. 14, 1922. Application Med May 2t), 1921. Serial No. 471,174

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL E. OLSON, a the signal member which is to be actuated to release the armature corresponding with.

citizen of the United States, residing at 3305 while all .of the other armatures, and .con- I Julian Street, in the city and county of sequently all of the other signal members, Denver and State of Colorado, have invented are locked against movement in response to certain new and useful Improvements in the attraction of the magnet. It will be un- Automobile Signals;and I do declare the folderstood that only one supplementary maglowing to be a full, clear, and exact descripnet is energized at any onetime. An election of the invention, such as will enable tric light is also located. in the circuit and others skilled in the art to which it appermaybe lighted whenever the circuit is closed tains to make and use the same, reference for the purpose vof displaying any signal being had to the accompanying drawings, member, the electric light bein located withand to the characters of reference marked in the casing in therear so t at when any thereon, which form a partof this specificasignal member is raised to the exposed position. tion the light will shine through the letters My invention relates to improvements informed therein. Each signal member is automobile signals, my object being to pro-- preferably composed of a plate ofmetal havvide a portable device adapted to be atmg letters cut therein, a piece of thin, white tached to any automobile and through the cloth .or" muslin being applied to the rear medium of which the driver'of the machine surface of the plate whereby the signal memmay by the pressing of a button, display a ber may constltute a, day signal by showing signal indicating that he is about to turn to white letters-when the circuit is not closed the right or left or that he is about to stop, through the electric light .or when a light is or that he is about to reverse orback the not employed.

machine. Having briefly outlined my improvement Briefly stated, the device consists of a box- I will proceed to describe the same in detail,

like structure mounted on a bracket attached reference being made to the accompanying to any convenient part of an automobile as, drawing in which is illustrated an embodiupon the fender, either front or rear. Or ment thereof.

the device may be mounted centrally in the In this drawing:

rear of a machine.

Within the casin ed, to move vertica 1y, four plates or signal indicated diagrammatically.

l5 laterally disposed and acts upon the spring drawing, consisting of a metal plate having 110 members which are provided respectively Fig. 2 is an elevation partly in vertical with the words Right, Leftf Stop,' section of my improved device.

Back. Each of these signal members is guid Fig. 3 is an end view of the same or a ed vertically within the casing from a lower View looking in the direction of arrow 3, concealed position into an exposed position F where the signal member is seen through an opening in the casing. Each signal member the rear of the dash and windshield showing is lifted by an arm properly connected therethe push buttons for closing the different c1r with and actuated by an electro-magnet of cuits.

the solenoid type, each arm being connected with an armature or keeper provided with showing the signal in "two positions, one 1n a core which extends into an opening in-the full lines, centrally mounted, 1n the rear of magnet which is provided ith il i th the machine, andthe other in dotted lines usual manner. As the magnet is energized supported upon one ofthe rear fenders. by pushing a button, for instance, the proper, The same reference characters ndicate the sign is displayed. The armature of each same parts in all the -views. signal is normally locked against movement Let the numeral 5' des lgnate the casing or when the magnet is energized by a light leaf box-like structure of my impro ved device rmit spring. However, as the button is pushed having an opening 6 in the rear to for energizing the main magnet, a supplethe exposure of any one of a number of sigmentary magnet is also energized and is nal members 7, each, as illustrated in the Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my improyed of the device are mountsignal, the various electrical circuits being i 2. 4 Fig. 4 is a view from a position directly in Fig. 5 is a rear. view of an automobile white, thin material of such character as to permit the rays of light to pass readily therethrough. Each of these si a1 members 7 is mounted to slide vertical y on a pair of guide wires 8 the opposite ends of the signal members having parts 9 bent around the wires in a. suitable manner to permit their free sliding movement in a vertical direction. Each signal member is connected by means of a pin 10 with an arm 12 which ispivotally connected with the frame as shown at 13, the pin 10 passing through aslot 14 formed in the adjacent end of the arm, the signal member having a part 15 projecting from its lower edge and carrying the pin 10. Pivotally connected with each arm 12 as shown at 16 is a link 17 which is comiected with anal-mature 1'8 rovided \with a core 19 which is adapted to slide freely in the central opening 20 of an electro-magnet 21 of the solenoid type, the same being provided with the usual coils 22. .It will be understood that there is an armature 18 for each arm 12 and consequently for each signal member 7. Each armature is-normally held at its lowest position'of, movement or in a I position corresponding with the concealed osition of its corresponding signal member y a light spring 23 which is secured as shown at 4 to the framework of the device which extends outwardly beyond the coils of the magnet. This "spring-locking device is composed of magnetic material and when a supplemental magnet 24 is energized, it acts upon the lower extremity of the spring 23 to move the latter su-fliciently to release the magnet 18. It must be understood that there is a supplemental magnet for each spring 23 and that these. supplemental magnets are separately or individually energized, according as it 's desired to display the one signal member or the other. It should also be explained that the main magnet \21 is magnetized whenever any push button is pressed and each one of the armatures 18 is equally attracted whenever the main magnet is energized. However, only one armature can move as only one of the springs 23 is attracted at any one time by its supplementary magnet, there being as many distinct circuits so far as the supplementa magnets are concerned, as there are supp ementary magnets. i

The frame or casing of the signal is supported by a bracket 25 having two supporting arms 26 to which the casing is secured as shown at 27. v

Referring now to the circuits, letthe numeral 28 designate the battery from one pole 29 of which leads a conductor 30. From the,

conductor 30 four branch wires 31, 32, 33

and 34 lead to switch arms 35, 36,37 and 38- respectively. When these switch arms are closed they connect the main wire 30 with short conductors 39 leading to a main wire 40 which is-connected with an electric lamp 41 located within the casing of the signal,-

the other terminal of the lamp being connected with the conductor 42 which is connected with a main wire 43 leading to the opposite pole 44 of the battery. Again,

when any switch arm 35, 36, 37 or 38 is in the closed position, it connects the main battery 30 with a conductor 45," 46, 47' or 48, these last named conductors .leadin respectively to one terminal of a supp emental supported on the dash 66 of the automobile where it is conveniently accessibleto the driver.

From the foregoing description the use and operation of -my improved device will be readily understood. Assuming that the driver wishes to give the signal that he will turn to the right, he pushes the proper button 24 and closes the magnet circuit through one of the supplementarymagnets' 24, the main ma net 21 "and the electric light 41. As soon as t is occurs, the supplementary magnet. 24 corresponding with the proper signal member 7, will act ontheproper spring 23 to release the armature 18 connected with the arm 12 of the signal member 17in which is formed the letters of the word Right. Consequently the armature will move upwardly attracted by the main magnet 21, the

arm' 12 will be lifted and corresponding movement imparted to .the proper signal member which will then be exposed through the opening 6 of the casing as shown in Fig.

the weight of the signal member 7 and the arm 12 will move downwardly'against the action of'the spring 23, until the armature is below the spring when the latter will return to its locking position and prevent the upward movement of this particular signal member until the proper suppcilmentary magnet 24 is. again ener 'zed. en it is desired to operate any 0t er signal member '7, the driver will press the corresponding push button 54 which will be propery designated on the dash-board, in which event the main magnet 21 will be energized the same as before, but a different supplementary magnet will be energized and a different spring 23 actuated to release the proper armature in order that the desired signal member may be lifted to the exposed position in the same manner as heretofore described.

I claim:

1. An automobile signal comprising a casing, a plurality of signal members mounted to move vertically therein independently of one another, actuating arms connected with the respective signal members, a common electro-magnet for actuating all the arms, locking devices for the respective arms, supplemental magnets for releasing the locking devices, electrical circuits in which the supplemental magnets are'respectively located, in all of which circuits the common magnet is located, and means for closing the said circuits independently of each other.

2. An automobile signal comprising a casing, a plurality of signal members mounted to move therein independently of one another, actuating arms connected with the respective signal members, a common electromagnet for actuating all .of the arms, each arm having connected therewith a part composed of magnetic material arranged in suitable proximity to the magnet, lockingdevices for the respective arms, supplemental magnets for releasing the locking devices, electrical circuits in which the supplemental magnets are respectively located and in all of which circuits the common magnet is located, and means forclosing the said circuits independently of each other.

3. An automobile signal comprising a cas-' ing, a plurality of signal members mounted to move therein independently of one another, actuating arms for the several signal members, an armature connected with each arm, a common magnet for the several armatures, spring dogs for normally locking the respective armatures against movement when the common magnet is energized, supplemental magnets for releasing the respective dogs, and circuits for the respective supplemental magnets in all of which the common magnet is located.

4. An automobile signal comprising a casing, a number of signal members 'movable therein, a commonelectro-magnet for actuating'the several signal members, a locking dog for each signal member, supplemental electro-magnets for releasing the several dogs, and circuits in which the supplemental magnets are respectively located and in all of which the common magnet is located.

5. An automobile signal comprising a casing, a plurality of signal members movable igi the casing independently of one another, means for normally locking the several signal members against movement, supplemen tal electro-magnets for releasing the locking means, a common electro-magnet for actuating all of the signals, and circuits in which the several 'electro-magnets are respectively located and in all of which the common magnet is located.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

EMILE. OLSON. 

